by Susan Curtiss ·
Friday, November 1, 2024
Harvard has clearly valued two things over the years—its children and conservation. Both of these values are threatened by the planning that is aimed at taking the Stone field on Old Mill Road and turning it into a soccer playing field and parking lot. The situation for those caring about conservation is obvious. One has only to come to Old Mill Road and see the devastation created by clear-cutting the forest to the east of the pond to recognize what will be done on the west with this plan. This area around Bowers Brook and the pond is a wildlife corridor. The Stone field is a peaceful and beautiful part of this habitat. Deer bed down in the meadow, wild turkeys bring their young to forage. Fish and turtles live in the pond and the brook is managed by beavers. Birds nest and sing in the trees and bees drink from the abundant wildflowers in the meadow. The trees give us fresh air to breathe and beauty abounds.
Creating a practice soccer field for some children to play on two seasons a year is the other “need” being expressed. It is being discussed in the usual way: how much will it cost, how convenient can it be made for the parents, who will pay for it and when. The calculation is chiefly financial and self-serving. There is little consideration for the collateral damage it would create in the environment.
If the schools are doing their job I don’t think our young people would choose the soccer option. They know about climate change and the cost of satisfying endless human “needs” at the expense of everything else. The effect of the ethic of “take, use, and pay forward” has captured their future possibilities for survival. They are increasingly anxious and depressed. Sustainability, reciprocity, collaboration, and gratitude for the Earth and all its inhabitants are the values they must adopt. Leadership from adults to support this true “need” could be honored in this discussion and planning. How about it!
Susan Curtiss
Old Mill Road